LPG car travels Australia on $1000 fuel

LPG car travels Australia on $1000 fuel

25 August 2006

V8 racing driver Jason Bright is normally accustomed to ripping around tracks like Bathurst at almost 300 kilometres an hour.

So it was at a relatively pedestrian 80kph that the V8 Supercar star cruised from Albury, NSW, to Melbourne on the final leg of a challenge to test the advantages of driving on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The challenge, backed by Ford Australia, involved a 23 day, 14,000km lap around mainland Australia, taking in all state and territory capitals, on a fuel budget of $1,000 or less.

Bright - who shared driving duties with Ford's stable of racing car drivers - pulled into the car giant's Melbourne headquarters on Friday to refund company president Tom Gorman $2.45 in change.

"There's still enough (fuel) to go another 400km or so before refilling - I could probably get half way to Adelaide," Bright said.

"Certainly the economy is an advantage, the cost of gas to fill up the tank compared to unleaded is much better.

"At the end of the day, you're doing just as many kilometres, or more, for a lot less of a fill."

Mr Gorman said with fuel prices soaring, LPG was becoming an increasingly popular alternative to regular unleaded petrol.

"The popularity of LPG has risen significantly recently and with the government's announcement of a $1,000 rebate for consumers buying factory-fitted LPG vehicles, LPG is an even more viable alternative fuel.

"Not only is it green and environmentally friendly, it's also economically beneficial to consumers," Mr Gorman said.

He said the same, 14,000km round-trip on regular unleaded petrol would have cost between $720 to $1,000 extra, depending on price differences at different service stations.